Open mike 09/10/09
We’re trying a daily “Open mike”. This is a place for anyone to post comments on topics that might be of interest, […]
The Bridgeman Concrete lockout ends successfully
The Bridgeman Concrete workers locked out for nine days hardened their picket last week. Two concrete trucks couldn’t leave the depo, costing the company $3,000 […]
Photos from the Auckland bus driver lockout
Some photos from the Auckland bus driver lockout. The drivers showed up to the depots today to demonstrate they were willing to work, […]
Nanny State
Under new laws proposed by John Key we’re going to need a prescription to get any cold medicine with pseudoephedrine in it. Anyone […]
Labour needs to get beside the workers
You know, if you look back to all the elections since 1957, there’s only three you would say the Left lost outright – […]
Anniversary-gate?
The Standard would like to wish Mrs Mavis Lawson many happy returns on her 100th birthday yesterday. We also had a chuckle when […]
Infratil / NZ Bus striking for more profits
Well the intransigent owners and managers of Infratil / NZ Bus finally went on strike this morning in their quest for higher profits. […]
Time to wake up from the neolib nightmare
Back in the 1980s, some people who had read too much Milton Friedman and had drunk too much whiskey at Backbone Club meetings, […]
Too late 2
From Inter Press: Climate Change: Food Supply Hangs in the Balance Uxbridge, Canada – Rocketing food prices and hundreds of millions more starving […]
Open mike 08/10/09
A lot of stuff happens in the world, and Standard writers don’t cover all of it. Let’s try a daily “Open mike” post […]
Nanny Coleman on immigrant advice
Jonathan Coleman insists that there is nothing wrong with the Immigrant Advisers Act that restricts anyone giving any advice on immigration matters to […]
Climatic catastrophe lolz
hat-tip Sam Vilain in comments
Greener Apple latest to quit over climate
Rob Fyfe isn’t the only business leader calling for socks to be pulled up over climate change. High powered companies appear to dropping […]
Caption comp
Bus drivers solidarity picket – Wgtn
There’s a solidarity picket tomorrow outside Infratil’s HQ in Wellington to support the locked out Auckland bus drivers. If you’ve got a moment […]
Too late
From The Guardian: Arctic seas turn to acid, putting vital food chain at risk With the world’s oceans absorbing six million tonnes of […]
Beyond GDP
Back in 1934, when Gross Domestic Product was first being developed in the States, the economist in charge, Simon Kuznets, wrote “…the welfare of […]
Samoa Relief Concert
A leopard doesn’t change his spots
There is a very revealing quote from John Banks in the weekend’s Dominion Post where he talks about his campaign strategy: Uptown, Auckland […]
Six years jail for Field
Taito Philip Field has been sentenced to six years jail for bribery and corruption. Field is a prime example of the ability of […]
Drivers locked out for following their contracts
Yesterday, around 1,000 bus drivers and support staff issued noticed to their employer, NZ Bus owned by Infratil, that from Thursday they would […]
Catcha Cray
SAFE is campaigning against a new and very odd form of “entertainment” in pubs. Catcha Cray machines are just like arcade grab machines, […]
Half the population
Poor DPF must feel like he’s through the looking glass these days. He’s got to defend a government that flip flopped on tax […]
Up in smoke
When the Tui oil-field was opened last year, the operators (AWE New Zealand, 87.5% foreign-owned, ironically) were given permission to burn off 10 […]
Wee gripes: loose thinking/loose slots
This the kind of garbage isn’t usually worth my time, but that’s what wee gripes is for: Why are Key, Henry and Watkins so […]
Capitalism: A Love Story
Just found the trailer on youtube. No word yet when it’s coming to New Zealand.
Parliamentary staff begin industrial action
Low-level industrial action has begun at Parliament after workers rejected an offer from the employer that would have slashed redundancy provisions and kept […]
Put away the champagne, Paula
Paula Bennett: “The number of people needing an Unemployment Benefit has slowed significantly over the last month, says the Minister for Social Development […]
School support staff fight National’s pay freeze
From the NZEI. Great to see the low paid mobilise so effectively.
Industrial roundup: Open Country
Last week the Employment Court decided that Talleys-owned Open Country was acting illegally in locking out its unionised staff. The Court upheld the […]
Industrial roundup: Telecom
Visionstream completed its takeover of the Auckland and Northland patch on Thursday and it’s now become clear that they’ve failed to meet the […]
Twyford and the idiocy of pacifism
I have to agree with Tim Selwyn in his criticism of Phil Twyford’s peace about Moriori pacifism. Twyford writes on Red Alert: Moriori […]
Bill vs Greens
I love that, after studiously ignoring Bill English’s housing rort, Farrar’s now got unending questions for the Greens. Pretty desperate stuff too – ‘sure, […]
Key’s speeder-gate
When they’re struggling to defend Bill English’s housing rip-off, or John Key’s clowning, or Richard Worth’s dodgy dealings, or Anne Tolley’s incompetence, or Paula […]
Dipton Watch
Greetings to the good people of Dipton. Must be fun to be so much in the news lately! I hope some local entrepreneurs […]
No bull
An interesting take on the Crafars from Bernard Hickey in the Herald. He starts off: The Crafar Farms tragedy is a microcosm of […]